Ostler Andreas

German bobsledder who, at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, became the first person to steer both the two-man and four-man bob to gold medals at the same Winter Olympics. Together with Lorenz Nieberl pushing and braking they won the two-man event. When both German 4-man-teams, rivals since their pre-war youth, only qualified in mid-field, they decided to join forces. With Friedrich Kuhn and Franz Kemser, the heaviest members of the other team that withdrew, bob "Deutschland I" won all four heats. The Gold medallists had a combined weight of 472 kg, or an average of 118 kg per person. The rules were soon altered, introducing a limit of 400 kg. The German movie Schwere Jungs (2007) is based on their story. Ostler won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds in 1951 and two silvers in 1953 at home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, each time both in two-man and four-man. Ostler carried the flag of Germany during the opening ceremonies of the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina dAmpezzo, when Germans took part as United Team of Germany. After he retired from bobsleigh, Ostler became a gastronomer (Chef). He died on 24 November 1988 at age 67 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less